Dark Souls: Archthrones is the narrative Souls mod you didn't know you needed

With Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree due to launch this June, now’s the prime time to jump into an older From Software title with mods installed. It just so happens that one of the most impressive Dark Souls 3 mods we’ve yet seen, Archthrones, now has a demo available.

Dark Souls: Archthrones is, essentially, a total conversion mod for Dark Souls 3 that takes up the monumental task of restructuring and retelling the core narrative of the franchise. Archthrones does come with its own lore, of course, which is “informed by the deepest secrets of the Dark Souls mythos,” and allows the mod team to introduce new gear, enemies, and other assorted content. Yet, its central conceit is that it’s trying hard to stay true to From Software’s original work, all the while leveraging the stellar level structure of Demon Souls to achieve that goal. Interesting stuff, indeed.

Dark Souls: Archthrones demo is available right now

In more ways than one, Archthrones is trying to be the one-size-fits-all sequel to the Dark Souls franchise. In this mod, players embody the Emissary on their task of taking down the old Gods present in the Dark Souls lore. It’s an exciting predicament that allows Archthrones to embrace the core progression structure of Demon Souls to show off revitalized and revamped content from all three franchise entries. A best-of Souls mixtape, as it were.

With that in mind, Archthrones is a few notches above most other Dark Souls mods. Examples such as the first-person mod and the Roguelite mod are great in their own right, yes, but Archthrones‘ self-appointed job is nothing short of monumental. Some of the mod’s features include:

• Non-linear progression through each of the five “thrones”
• New gear, with cloth physics for armor
• 17 all-new boss fights (with more to come)
• Guard counters, perfect blocking, deflection, back-step guard cancelling, and a number of other complex combat mechanics.
• New NPCs, side-quests, and more, with full voice-work.
• Private server availability for co-op multiplayer, with separate save file tracking from baseline Dark Souls 3

Do note, however, that the full version of Dark Souls: Archthrones is not yet available. The demo can be downloaded via Nexus Mods, and it should give you a sense of what this whole schtick is all about.

Veteran Souls players have got much to look forward to here. The demo is positively loaded with cheeky throwbacks to virtually all of From Software’s work on the Souls games, and that includes Bloodborne as well. All the available content is of high quality and fits into the experience remarkably well, and though we don’t yet have a full release date for Dark Souls: Archthrones, we bet this mod is going to be a must-play for those who need something new and exciting in the Souls universe.